Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Snow Goose" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which appeared on the Fleetwood Commemorative Cover for the Waterbirds of the 50 States South Dakota/Snow Goose. Sitting on the water with its wing tips hidden, a Snow Goose may be confused with a swan. But the Snow Goose's neck is distinctly shorter. Both males and females of the Snow Goose are very handsome birds with glistening white plumage. These beautiful waterbirds wear a black "grinning patch," a broad band along the mandibles that seems to give the birds a leering expression. In Spring, these elegant birds fly north in V's and ragged, sweeping curves from the main wintering grounds in California. They are indeed a beautiful spectacle of gleaming white bodies and black-tipped wings as they fly. On their way to their breeding grounds -- the arctic shores of Alaska and Canada -- they will make a stopover in South Dakota. They announce their coming with a resonant, melodious honking. Since the Snow Geese are very pretty, they are welcome visitors to South Dakota. On their summer grounds, they nest in colonies in a depression filled with mosses and lined with grasses. The nesting season of Snow Geese takes about twenty-five days. As the female patiently incubates her eggs, the male will stand guard close by. By the time the young are capable of flying a long distance, the Snow Geese will form migratory flocks and head south to their winter home. When they migrate, they fly very high. Sometimes they utter shrill falsetto notes and occasional softened honks as they make their journey. Image Size: 10 x 12 in. Overall Size: 17.25 x 19.25 in. Unframed. (B08101)